Staying Casual

PROLOGUE - ALI

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places and events are either the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, whether living or dead, and actual events are purely coincidental. The artwork used for the book cover was taken from the internet, credits to the owner/artist.

This story contains mature content, such as themes and languages that may not be suitable for young audiences. Read at your own risk.

Please don't mind the punctuation marks, I'm actually a bit pretentious when it comes to proper English. Also, I finished this at 1AM – be wary and understanding of misspelled words and grammatical errors. Even if you don't like it, I hope you still enjoy it (but again, I'd prefer if it's both).

In advance, thank you for finding the time and patience to read this.

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"Well," Dad cleared his throat over dinner; my first dinner with him since Christmas last year, "I can call Peter and have him removed from their firm."

My brothers nodded in agreement, as I immediately said, "No, dad. I'm good; besides mom already called Peter and informed him of what happened."

"But did they even get punished? Come on, Ali, he wasn't a good guy and it's stupid he called your profession immature" Liam added. I attempted to look at him and that was a mistake, I felt my tears threatening to fall; though we're the same age, being twins and all, he always felt obligated to watch out for me.

Charlie, my elder brother reached out to pour himself some more wine, "Or better yet, we can TP his house" he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

I tried to give them a smile, before shaking my head, "I'm good, he never paid attention to my career anyway, so he never knew how much I've achieved" pulling in some last minute confidence.

"That's good, Ali-bear" my dad coos with a big smile, "he didn't know what he just gave up. And don't let any of that get in your head, you're a great artist."

We continued with our family dinner, talking about our jobs, updating dad on the latest happenings. After dinner, all three men left, leaving me in the silence of the penthouse; I dialed Lucy and check if she's up for a girl's night. Though I've had a few weeks to sit through the cheating fiasco, I can't say I'm still not nursing a broken heart, and I need a distraction.

After an hour of getting ready, I met Lucy at the lobby and we went to Boozy, the newest bar downtown. When we went inside, it was packed and I didn't really know how to sort out my feelings; little did I know that night will change my life forever.

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